Judge Juan Merchan rejected former US President Donald Trump’s request to recuse the judge in the trial of falsifying business records, which Trump is charged with when he allegedly paid porn actress Stormy Daniels to remain silent about their alleged affair, CNN reports.
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“Judge Juan Merchan rejected the recusal request and said he would not consider it again until the appeals court rules,” the statement said.
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The judge said the court believes Trump is using “a series of inferences, innuendos and baseless speculations” to launch the recusal process.
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The process is taking place against the backdrop of the upcoming US presidential elections in the fall, in which the main rivals are expected to be the current President Joe Biden and the former occupant of the White House, Donald Trump. The latter regularly calls the criminal cases brought against him (of which there are only four) a “witch hunt” and an attempt to prevent him from participating in elections.
Jury selection is scheduled to take place in court today.
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American media consider this trial to be historic and the first of its kind – the former president will stand trial on criminal charges. Trump was charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records. The maximum possible punishment for the totality of the charges brought is 136 years in prison. The ex-president himself declared his innocence and the absence of grounds to initiate a case.
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In total, four criminal cases have been opened against Trump, three of which have not yet reached the stage of court hearings.
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In Atlanta, Georgia, Trump faces charges of trying to overturn the state’s 2020 presidential election. A general federal case to review the voting results will be heard in Washington. In Miami, Florida, another federal case is being investigated – about the removal of classified materials from the White House, hiding them after the expiration of presidential powers, disclosing state secrets and obstructing the investigation.
